Have you ever been blissfully engrossed in a drumming circle’s rhythm? Drumming has the power to transform our minds, bodies, and spirits, according to exciting scientific research that goes beyond the exciting beats! You did read correctly. Come along with me as we explore the advantages of drumming circles.
Circle Drumming Are More Than Just Playing a Beat
Let’s first agree on something. A drum circle is more than just a bunch of strangers pounding on drums. It’s a coordinated, frequently spontaneous musical experience that depends on synchronization, listening, and group rhythm-building. Drum circles provide a welcoming environment where anyone, from beginners to expert percussionists, may connect over beats, whether at a community center, a park, or the beach.
Your Mind on Drums
The exciting part is that when you drum, your brain exercises every time. Imagine it as a mental exercise, where you are using your brain muscles rather than lifting weights. Your brain is stimulating different areas while you drum. The structure and functions of your brain are constantly changing, and drumming circles can help with this!
Link, Sync, and Consider
Jamming in drum circles activates the “movement zone” of your brain. It resembles a tiny neuronal party! Your brain is being challenged as you learn new beats and synchronize with other drummers, which makes it more receptive and intelligent.
However, your brain’s “thinking section” switches to problem-solving mode. Do you still feel proud of yourself for beating that challenging beat? That is the celebration of your brain’s development, with the drum circle serving as its training field.
The “Highway” Connecting Brain Regions
Neural pathways are the “superhighways” in our brains. By increasing activity in these routes, drumming facilitates faster and more fluid transmission by effectively extending the lanes. The more you practice drumming circles, the stronger these roads are.
It’s Connecting, Not Just Drumming
Drum circles are unique because of their communal nature. You’re synchronizing energies and feelings in addition to beats. This shared experience improves social awareness and empathy, which activate your “emotional brain.” The results. A more connected and sympathetic you.
Get Set and Let Go
Have you ever noticed that your memory seems a little crisper after drumming? It’s not all in your head, though! Regular involvement in drum circles can strengthen your memory-related brain regions. Thus, since you are keeping up with the beat, your brain is improving as a memory store.
Drumming Reduces Stress
Everybody has experienced days when tension consumes them. Drum circles, fortunately, can be our way out. Drumming’s peaceful rhythmic rhythms help to relax our minds and lessen anxiousness. It should come as no surprise that many therapists suggest drumming to patients. So why not visit a drum circle the next time you feel stressed?
The Everlasting Benefit
The long-lasting effects of brain plasticity are one of its beautiful features. Participating in drum circles regularly guarantees that your brain continues to develop, adapt, and strengthen. Furthermore, this is for more than just kids. Drumming can cause changes in the brain that benefit adults of all ages. It resembles a “forever young” brain potion!
How Do Drum Circles Occur
There’s so much more to drum circles. Drumming circles are a useful tool for identifying statistically significant changes in physical, emotional, and mental wellness, as research keeps showing! It seems like a breath of fresh air in this broken, stressed-out world when we drum together! Research indicates that Therapeutic Drum Circles are an effective way to lower stress and foster a sense of community. Breaking: There’s positive news! According to the study, the leading causes of mental and physical sickness are stress and a lack of social connections.
Integrated Community Drum Circle (ICDC) employs an eclectic array of global drums in a novel and potent therapeutic drum circle protocol that is quickly spreading across the country.
The ICDCs have the following uses and advantages:
- Advantages:
- lucidity of mind
- improvement of mood
- Community relationship
- Material force
- Utilization:
- Health & Stress Reduction
- Building Communities and Teams
- Celebrations and Social Events
Drum circles are usually led by facilitators enthusiastic about sharing this unique tool with you. They foster a joyful, encouraging, and safe atmosphere. People see the highly beneficial therapeutic results of frequent participation in Integrated Community Drum Circles worldwide. Although drum circles cannot change the world, trying to live our lives in the same way as they do in the Integrated Community Drum Circle can change the world. We can improve at seeing, hearing, and sensing as we move from the me to the us! Every time I step out to facilitate an ICDC, I get to know myself and the human condition better.
Things to Anticipate in a Drum Circle
You are happy to be going to your first drum circle because you have finally discovered your “tribe” and a platform to use the art of drumming to express your creativity and spirituality. It is an exciting moment, and you might only know precisely what to anticipate from the event if you have attended a drum circle before. Like humans and drums, there are various variations in drum circles. Before you break into a fun rhythm on that gorgeous new Djembe, remember a few basic standards for enjoying yourself and the other circle members. There are various drum circles, each with its rules and objectives.
- Different objectives, styles, and facets of communities are all represented in drum circles.
- “Open” drum circles are socialization-focused gatherings encouraging neighborhood, community, or regional interaction.
- The purpose of healing drum circles is to unite individuals in the spirit of using drumming to heal one another.
- Facilitated drum circles can take place during a team-building activity that emphasizes collaboration and teamwork, such as a corporate retreat.
- Additionally, there are drum circles that support charitable causes and organizations that are religious or spiritual, as well as cultural drum circles that honor Native American, African, Asian, or Caribbean drumming traditions.
- Depending on the style of the drum circle, there could be unwritten rules regarding instruments, drumming, and other matters once you are seated within it. You are welcome to inquire about any specifics regarding the circle you are attending or expectations for new members. While some circles might have an additional Djembe or Shekere available for new drummers, others might ask you to bring your drum or other percussion instrument. Always request to use an instrument, just to be sure. When playing someone else’s drum, do not wear jewelry since this could harm the set.
The first thing you should notice as the drumming starts is the constant beat. The other drummers and percussionists will use this beat to set the tempo and mood for the song, add their instruments and sounds to it, and maintain the cooperative tempo of the circle during any solos. Most drum circles acknowledge that other people can take the prevailing rhythm and improve it with original rhythms. But always keep in mind that a drum circle is just a circle, and that the most essential thing is to maintain a cooperative atmosphere and give each person an opportunity to contribute their energy and rhythm to the group.
Drum circles can be vibrant gatherings that foster creativity, foster community and provide participating drummers with unforgettable experiences. Joining and taking part in a drum circle may need you to do little more than be in tune with the overall sharing vibe. Remember the goal of the circle and fundamental drum circle etiquette to make your experience and the other participants as positive as possible, whether you are new to the circle or are simply thinking about taking your Djembe to a local circle to see what it is all about.
Discover the Restorative Potential of an African Drum Circle
The bright sun shines through the stained glass into our happy faces as we sit in a circle and hold hands in the spacious gathering area. Our differences include age, gender, color, and religion. We come from different backgrounds and eras. While many of us are meeting for the first time, some are friends, family, or neighbors. We number in the above thirty range. However, as the drumming begins, we all come together to celebrate life, our community, and the happiness of the present. Drum circles use rhythm to encourage self-expression and healing. We employ West African djembe drums and other percussion instruments, such as shakers and bells, in the circles I lead. Anyone may make music for fun with group drumming, regardless of prior musical experience. And there are a ton of reasons to give it a shot.
Our origins are in rhythm! Black women who attend drum circles frequently talk about how transformative the experience is. As they began to beat the drums in unison, there was a healing vibe present. Women leave feeling rejuvenated and invigorated. While not all of us were born in Africa, Africa was born within us. Anyone can learn to drum. To join, you do not need to be able to read music. Furthermore, drumming is accessible to many individuals with impairments and persons with neuromuscular and degenerative disorders, unlike other instruments that need fine motor control or the capacity to move your fingers. Everyone, from young people who are at risk to elderly residents of nursing homes, has benefited from drumming therapy. All you need to let go of is a willing spirit.
Having a drum kit can be therapeutic. There are many health advantages to drumming experiences. Positive emotions, pleasurable bodily sensations, initiative, control, accomplishment, a sense of flow and concentration, improved self-esteem, and a sense of social connectivity were among them. The physical benefits of drumming or creating music for enjoyment with stress, blood pressure, immunity, memory and brain health, pain alleviation, anxiety, and depression. Circles foster a unique sense of closeness. As they enter our space and contribute to the group and the rhythm, our various drummers let go of their problems. They also meet new acquaintances. Some women are apprehensive and bashful when they are first there. As they become engrossed in the beat, tranquility, and delight of the experience, they quickly brighten and blossom.
Sessions allow for personal expression. An hour or longer is spent on drum circles. Health RHYTHMS is an evidence-based strategy that consists of rhythmic activities, encouraging beats, health exercises, and entertaining icebreakers. Local drum circles are hosted by numerous community organizations with the ultimate goal of enabling each participant to feel free to express themselves and enjoy themselves while adding their music and energy to the circle. If you would be interested in going to a drum circle in the future, they are currently outside your community. Local drum circles can be located by looking on Facebook and Meetup.com.
Beat, Society, and the Influence of Drum Circles
What makes rhythm so unique and fascinating at the same time? Even in the most basic daily tasks, we observe the effects of this. The rhythm of life is represented by the sound of the ocean lapping against sand, the soothing sound of cars sending kids to sleep in backseats or even the simple pulse of a person. In a drum circle setting, this beat is at its most effective. I also discovered today just how transformative a drum circle may be.
These drum circles have a symbolic quality that helps people realize why it’s so essential for young people to band together and establish cohesive communities. What some refer to as “community percussion” has a cultural and historical history. Community drumming, or drum circles, are emerging naturally in neighborhoods that face numerous layers of systematic oppression and barriers.
Being a part of a drum circle is an honor for me. The circle can include young pupils who have faced marginalization and hardships that no child should have to go through at an early age.I realized how much a child’s environment and community shape and influence their life. What brings affection, sharing of burdens, and development is a beautiful community. However, the opposite of a healthy society results in suffering, melancholy, rage, and regret. These young individuals battle against many of these traits daily. In these settings, one learns that raising a child does require a village—and not just any old village, but also a supportive one. Sadly, the American model of childrearing has become so individualistic and competitive that it has removed the community from the child’s life.
The pulse of the drum circle today has a narrative that has the power to transform. People who have similar goals in mind might get together to achieve them through drum circles. Drumming has power, but when a group of drummers get together, that power recombines and multiplies on numerous levels simultaneously. The drums draw individual energies together to form a unified power.
Frequently, people undervalue these life rhythms and the power they possess. We often rely on kids to remind us of how significant and profoundly transformative these small things can be because of our busy schedules. Community, drumming, rhythms, and banding together with others to overcome life’s challenges are examples of such things. These are the times when we begin to understand the nuances of change and, eventually, forward motion for the better.
Final Thoughts by Doc T Elliott
The beats and rhythms of drum circles reveal a realm of magical thinking. Our minds and bodies are improving, connecting, and evolving as we create a vibe and sync. Thus, remember that a drum circle is more than music when you hear its captivating beats; it demonstrates health and wellness.
Whether you are an experienced drummer or want to learn more about rhythm, participating in drumming circles can be your key to a more focused and contented existence. Participate in making the beat rather than merely dancing to it!